"Mr. Han isn't quite in his thirties, is he? Yet he's already reached such a level in the practice of the Jade Pillar Technique." The blue-robed young lady asked, her tone both amused and slightly skeptical. "Miss Liu's kind words are truly generous. Though I have signed the blood covenant document, I still know very little about Tian Dong Trading House. Would you mind introducing me to it a bit?" Han smiled gently and said so. "It seems Mr. Han isn't from our Tian Yuan Realm, otherwise he wouldn't have asked such a question." With a gentle flick of her eyes, Miss Liu lightly covered her mouth and smiled. "By the way, isn't Tian Dong Trading House quite well known in the area?" Han's gaze brightened, showing clear interest. "Very well known? Mr. Han is truly being generous. Our trading house is one of the top three in the Tian Yuan Realm, with branches in hundreds of cities large and small. Our headquarters is even located within the sacred city of Tian Yuan." The blue-robed young lady lifted her lips slightly, her expression proud and self-assured. Yet all this meant little to Han, who had only just ascended to the In his mind, hundreds of cities didn't seem like much—far from it, even a small nation in the human realm boasted many more. Yet the appearance of this young lady suggested she was no ordinary one. He wasn't sure whether the girl before him was merely a creature of limited vision, or whether the spiritual realm truly differed from the human realm in this regard. There's no need to mind, Madam Han—Qian'er is still young and hasn't meant any harm," the blue-robed maiden scolded the red-robed one, then added with a gesture of apology. In her eyes, although Han Li was a newcomer to the Tian Dong trading house, his already refined physical cultivation skills at such a young age indicated he would surely be highly valued in the future. She naturally did not wish for any of her sisters to clash with him. As Han Li smiled and was about to speak, the carriage suddenly gave a slight tremor, and the giant turtle came to a halt. The blue-robed maiden was momentarily startled, but quickly recovered and exclaimed: "Master Wang, what's happened?" "The front guard, Chilin Quail, has spotted a group of sand creatures," the elderly man seated outside the carriage replied. "They appear to have taken an interest in our convoy. But these sand creatures are merely acting on instinct—sending a few people to drive them away would be sufficient. There's no need to halt the convoy. We're already running behind schedule. The young lady in blue robes grew somewhat displeased. "Among these creatures, there is already a low-rank insect demon that has begun to develop rudimentary intelligence. If we fail to eliminate it, we may face serious complications." The elder smiled faintly. "A low-rank insect demon—this is quite challenging. However, has Captain Zhang not already refined his Huabu Technique to the fifth level? With that, combined with the golden, luminous sword spirit bestowed personally by the lady, we should be able to handle this demon without any issue." The young lady spoke without hesitation. "That's true, Madam. Yet there are several mutated creatures accompanying this insect demon. Captain Zhang and his team may still face some risks in dealing with them." The elder paused slightly, then hesitated before adding. "Mutated creatures—indeed, that poses a real threat. Nevertheless, aren't there several cultivators from the Nanqi Sect aboard the convoy? Let them step in and handle the situation." The young lady considered this, and her tone softened. "Captain Zhang has already requested their assistance, but it was denied." The master and his companions are all cultivators from Gouliu Mountain—they were unwilling to intervene until the insects and beasts launched their attacks. The elder sighed and said so. "Such a hassle. I've already warned you not to hire cultivators from Gouliu Mountain; they have so many restrictions and formalities." The red-robed young lady wrinkled her nose, clearly displeased. "It's not their fault, really. Gouliu Mountain's practitioners traditionally specialize in controlling insects and creatures; they usually don't have such concerns when facing other types of mythical beasts. Encountering insects is quite an unexpected situation. Then again, before the lady departs, I'll temporarily take charge of that thing. I'll release it and lend a hand to Zhang, the team leader. Just let him know that I'm going out immediately." Li'er paused, her expression growing serious. "That thing will certainly handle the insects without any problem." Hearing the blue-robed young lady's words, the elder outside the carriage seemed reassured. "Li'er, are you truly going to release that thing?" "If anything should go wrong, the lady will surely scold you," Xiang'er grew increasingly concerned. "Rest assured," the blue-robed young woman smiled confidently, "after all these years of training under the lady's care, the creature has developed a certain spirit of its own. It will easily hold its own against even lower-tier beast creatures, and will certainly be able to handle a few mutated insect beasts without any trouble." Then she stepped out of the carriage. "I'm not entirely at ease—I'd like to go and have a look," said the young red-robed girl, biting her lip and swiftly stepping out after her. Xiang'er and the last white-robed girl exchanged a glance, both of them smiling wistfully without needing to speak. In perfect synchrony, they too moved gracefully to follow. In a moment, the spacious carriage was left with Han Li alone. Seated on the chair, he gazed at the half-shut carriage door, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. A sharp, bloodthirsty roar echoed from nearby, carrying a fierce, violent intensity. Han Li's expression shifted slightly, his gaze flickered, and then he slowly rose to his feet, walking toward the vehicle door. He pushed the door gently and stepped out, standing at the edge of the giant turtle, lifting his head to survey the surroundings. Under the seven bright, moonlit orbs above, Han Li clearly saw everything around him. The entire convoy stretched out in a winding formation, reaching nearly a li in length, with a giant creature—similar in size to the turtle beneath his feet—spaced at regular intervals, totaling over thirty. Most of the turtles bore bulky cargo containers, each larger than the turtle itself, and on each turtle's back stood four or five sturdy men clad in standardized armor, armed with weapons. Additionally, knights mounted on giant wolves patrolled the sides, maintaining a vigilant, watchful presence. Yet none of this compared to what lay nearby, a single giant turtle, which captured Han Li's greater interest. A crowd had gathered around the great turtle. Among them stood Nanqi Zi, the scar-faced man, and the four young girls, including Liu'er. At the center of the group, a square object standing two zhang high was wrapped in a glossy, luminous black cloth. From within the cloth, a deep, resonant roar of a beast seemed to emanate faintly. The surface of the cloth shimmered with runes, indicating that it was itself a low-rank magical artifact. At that moment, the blue-robed girl was holding a token and projecting cascades of blue light, as though casting a spell. With his spirit eyes cleansed by his spiritual liquid, Han Li, though standing at some distance, perceived the scene as if it were right before him—clearly seeing a jade bracelet resting on the young girl’s wrist, adorned with several small spirit stones that gleamed brightly. Observing this, Han Li’s expression grew thoughtful, his brow furrowed. It seemed that the so-called "spiritual equipment" required an initial activation by another object before ordinary people could use it. Moreover, since the spirit stones are embedded within the artifact, once the qi within the stones is depleted, the artifact will lose all its effectiveness. Han Li was deeply pondering this possibility. Suddenly, after absorbing a certain amount of blue light, the black cloth transformed into a swirling black mist and dispersed completely, revealing a beautifully crafted silver-white animal enclosure. Inside lay a red tiger-shaped creature, coiled and at rest. Visually, this beast appeared no different from a regular tiger—its fur was merely bright red, like fresh blood—but the people surrounding it could not help but feel a subtle sense of awe and fear. Upon seeing that so many people still stood outside the enclosure, the creature's eyes flashed with fierce intensity, and without any prior warning, it suddenly leaped forward, its body striking forcefully against the enclosure's frame, causing it to tremble and sway violently. The onlookers, their faces instantly pale, all stepped back slightly. The blue-robed young woman took a deep breath and raised her token once more, at which moment the token immediately glowed with a vivid crimson hue. It turned out strange that as soon as the tiger beast spotted the red glow, its fierce demeanor vanished entirely, and it immediately settled down, lying motionless in its enclosure. Upon witnessing this, Zhang Kui and the others instantly felt a great relief. At that moment, several clear bird calls suddenly echoed from the sky, rising and falling in rhythm, as though conveying some message. "The insect beasts are accelerating and have already encircled us. Everyone must prepare immediately—form a tight circle around the vehicles. Hold your ground and do not launch an offensive attack. I'll go personally to eliminate that low-level insect demon. Once the demon is defeated, these insect beasts, lacking intelligence, will naturally disperse," Zhang Kui said, his face tightening as he shouted. The moment he finished speaking, the entire caravan stirred into action. The beasts in the middle remained still, while the giant turtles at the front and rear swiftly moved toward the center. The guards on the vehicles quickly drew their weapons, and the knights riding the giant wolves hurried to converge in the middle. Then, with a single command, one person stepped forward and opened the animal enclosure, releasing the tiger beast. "Mr. Han, you haven't fully recovered yet. It would be safer for you to return to the carriage. The sandworm beasts aren't particularly good at jumping, and the carriage is made of dense ironwood, so there shouldn't be any major issues inside." The elder sitting at the front of the giant turtle, steering it, turned around, smiled warmly at Han Li, and said. "Thank you, elder, but I've never seen sandworm beasts before—indeed, I'd like to take a closer look at their appearance. If things do become dangerous, I'll certainly return to the carriage." Han Li smiled lightly and replied casually.